It’s been a while since we could have regular season peace
By this point in the season, most of us that watch, analyze and digest everything the Phillies do have fallen into a routine. The games are no longer the same set schedule they were for many years, where you knew that the first pitch would be around 7:00 and that you could probably anticipate having three hours of your life taken up watching nine innings of baseball. With the recent rule and time changes put into effect, now, each night the Phillies or any other baseball game for that matter begin their diamond dance, it’s going to be done around 9, 9:15, maybe 9:30 if it’s a long time (all times Eastern, of course). The routine, though slightly altered, is back.
With that routine comes opinions and with those opinions comes discussion. After Tuesday night’s victory, the Phillies sit 21 games over .500.
Twenty-one. Games. Over. Five. Hundred.
They are six games ahead of the Braves and looking already a solid bet to enter postseason play yet again after missing it for so many years. There is discussion on a national level about whether or not the team has entered the rarified air of being considered one of the game’s elite. If you’ve followed closely, even their odds at being the last team standing in October (or November or whenever the season decides to end) has incrementally ticked up as well. It’s a great time to be a follower of the team. They make analysis easy. For the most part, they make watching easy.
And yet…
There are still pockets of the fanbase waiting for the other shoe to fall. Waiting for the “inevitable” turnaround that will befall the team, leading to an unstoppable backslide out of contention for pieces of metal. They’ll point to the fact that multiple players on the team are not performing up to snuff, glossing over the fact that several players are having outstanding, All Star caliber campaigns.
To those, I would like to say: enjoy this while it lasts.
Every team has holes. That is the nature of a team sport. Whatever careful planning and execution of roster construction a team puts into place, there will be soft spots that are in need of upgrade. Baseball is unique in the North American sports landscape in that failure is not only expected, it’s somewhat accepted. Everyone who has ever followed the game knows that players are going to fail 65-80% of the time they try to hit a baseball. When you begin as a fan, it’s repeated over and over that even the Hall of Fame players were failures 70% of the time.
What we have to come to understand is that when a team is going good like the Phillies are going good right now, it’s best to feel the vibes and enjoy them. The front office is aware of what needs to be better. They’re no doubt doing so right now to make that those areas are addressed.
But imagine what things would be like if the team wasn’t playing well. Matt Gelb recently posited on his podcast about how things would look if the team was at a .500 record, even slightly below it. Where would the pressure be at? With the Phillies playing as well as they are, we can somewhat gloss over the fact that:
- Seranthony Dominguez currently doesn’t know how to throw strikes
- Two of the team’s three starting outfielders have a wRC+ that begins with a 6…and is in the double digits
- The starting catcher to backup catcher gap is as wide as it’s ever been
- The bullpen has four arms that can really, truly be trusted right now
If there was bad baseball being played in Philadelphia, these issues would be flaming hot right now and no one would be happy. Instead, I’ll refer back to the beginning.
Twenty-one. Games. Over. Five. Hundred.
There will be plenty of time to fret about the little things with the team. Once June hits and the schedule does indeed stiffen a bit more, we’ll be able to get a truer sense of whether this team is truly among the game’s elite.
Until there is reason to panic, reason to sway negative every time one thinks about the Phillies, just enjoy the ride. This is a very, very good team. For anyone who wants to bemoan the strength of their schedule, I would point to the fact that they are steamrolling that schedule. Once teams like the Braves and Dodgers play “easier” opponents, you’ll see those complaining about who they have to go up against go eerily quiet. The Phillies have done their job against the team they’re supposed to beat. They’ve banked wins that will come in handy once wins are at a premium for anyone racing to October.
So as you continue in that nightly routine, whatever that may be, just enjoy the ride. It’s been a while since we could.